Live
by Asase
Summary: This was my fic for Kaldur week on Tumblr last year. I totes forgot to post it here. Just second year Art and Kal trying to have a day off and failing spectacularly at it.


Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or organizations from the Young Justice cartoon, comics, or expanded DC universe.

* * *

The Witch boy's work room was pitch black save for the candles that surrounded his desk. His small back was hunched over as he worked. He mumbled to himself. The Manta was becoming arrogant in his opinion, asking for favors before he had proved his worth and for his son no less.

Klarion glanced over his shoulder. At least the boy doesn't always walk around in that dreadful armor, he thought as he took in Kaldur's appearance. Crisp black dress pants with a black button down shirt tucked neatly into his pants. The tie and shoes that Kaldur wore were also black. With his skin tone he could pull off something more colorful , Klarion mused. But for his station it would do.

Kaldur's eyesight was sharper than most because of his Atlantean heritage, but he could barely make out the architectural details on the walls. He sensed more so than saw the shadows that obscured his view. They danced in the darkness but seemed content to leave him be. He would not risk attracting their attention with any undue movements.

The room smelled faintly of herbs, disinfectant, and old blood. Kaldur fought the urge to wrinkle his nose, the action would do little to lessen the smell. The cat that wasn't a cat twined around Kaldur's legs, it mewed, begging to be pet. Kladur kept his hands clasped behind his back.

"Here is your trinket," Klarion swiveled in his chair, dispelling the shadows as he spoke. He held a wrist watch in his hand.

Kaldur strode forward and accepted the item. Its design was simple, something one could purchase at a local department store. Kaldur turned the watch over in his hands, rubbing his thumb over the watch's face. He leaned down to lift up his left pant leg, and retrieved the water bearer strapped there, as well as a stream of water from a small container. He enveloped the watch within a sphere of water, his eyebrows knit together as he examined it.

"I am not a magical expert but I have learned enough to protect myself." Kaldur looked up from examining the watch and directly into Klarion's eyes. "There are listening spells embedded into this device. If you will forgive me for saying so, they are quite crude. You can do better."

Teekl sat at Kaldur's feet and mewed in agreement.

Klarion goggled at him for a moment before laughing. Was the Aquabrat always so bold? he wondered. Or did his father teach him a new trick? "I did not ask for your impression on my spell crafting." He glanced down at Teekl "Or yours."

"I would like them removed." Kaldur dispelled the bubble of water and handed the watch back to Klarion.

Klarion took the watch gingerly. "Why? Do you have secrets that you wish to keep?"

"We all have secrets."

"Your father is a fool to put so much trust in you."

"My father does not completely trust me, and that is his prerogative. But I doubt that he asked you to add these spells."

Teekl stood on his hind legs and pressed its forepaws onto Kaldur's knee. It mewed again. Relenting, Kaldur reached down to scratch Teekl behind the ears.

"He did not." Klarion paused. "It would have been for my own amusement." he began to walk around Kaldur, inspecting him. "Then again, I doubt you do anything worth watching." He smirked and tilted his head to the side as he stood behind Kaldur. He lingered there for a moment before walking on. "Based on your body language you do not even have the capacity to lie. How horrid."

Kaldur looked to Klarion, his eye brow raised. "I lie quite often," he said above Teekl's purring.

"Even honest about your dishonesty." Klarion shrugged. "Very well. Teekl likes you so I will remove them." He tapped his thumb against the watch. The item glowed. Once it returned to its dull state Klarion offered the watch back to Kaldur.

"It is much appreciated." Kaldur stopped petting Teekl and accepted the watch from Klarion. "I thank you for both myself and my father."

"Do not be such a stranger." Klarion knelt down to pick up Teekl. "We are comrades now as they say."

"I will come to call then if I have the time." Kaldur bowed then turned to leave the room.

* * *

Kaldur could feel Klarion's eyes on him, even after he left the room. He continued to stride purposefully forward; it would do no good to show how much the gaze unnerved him. He was also not too keen on the _servants_ Klarion kept. They carried out their jobs, keeping the strange house spotless, but there was no life within their eyes. Kaldur itched with the desire to free them. Instead, he avoided the doorman's gaze as he handed him his coat.

Artemis or Tigress as she was now known was waiting for him at the docks. She shivered a little and tugged at the furred collar of her coat. In spite of the gradually warming weather in the rest of the country this place stayed deathly cold. She followed him onto their ship.

"How'd it go?"

"As well as could be expected." Kaldur gave the pilot the signal to launch and began to walk down the narrow hallways to his cabin. His men stepped to the side so that he could pass. He had long since abolished the rule that his men must salute every time they see him. They would see him enough that the movement would become tiresome. They gave him curt nods instead.

"So does it work?" she asked as she stepped beside him.

"It should."

She did not bother to hide her exasperation as she hissed. "You haven't tried it yet?"

The crew now ignored her when she became short with their leader. They had just become acquainted with their commanding officer when he brought this strange woman aboard. But since he did not mind her forward nature they felt it was best to keep their mouths shut. She was at the very least a fierce fighter from what they saw.

"I have not."

"What are you waiting for? What if it's a dud?"

"Privacy perhaps?" he said as he entered his room. Artemis was not far behind; closing the door after him.

Kaldur placed the watch on his wrist and pressed one of the dials. His eye and hair color turned dark brown. His gills had disappeared as well as the webbing between his hands. He sat down on his small sofa to pull off his dress shoes and wiggled his web free toes. He did not feel any different, but based on appearances it was as if someone erased the Atlantean part of his genealogy.

Artemis watched the process with fascination. "Oh that's creepy."

"What?" Kaldur asked a bit of alarm in his voice.

"You look like your dad."

"What!" Kaldur moved through the cabin and into the small bathroom. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he looked at his reflection. He was still himself but without the markings of his Atlantean heritage he looked like a younger version of his father. On it's own it wasn't a bad thing… but still. He fiddled with one of the dials and blinked in surprise as his eyes turned bright orange. He turned it again and they became a piercing blue.

"Oh stop fiddling with it." Artemis leaned against the bathroom's door way. She smirked at him "Your eyes are just as pretty brown as they are green."

Kaldur pouted a bit, giving her a soft glare as he turned to face her.

"We should test it out."

"The time to use it will come soon enough," he said as he deactivated the watch.

"Let's be proactive for a change." She pushed herself lazily off of the door frame. "I'll make the arrangements."

* * *

They stood on an abandoned part of the harbor, surrounded by early morning fog. Artemis inspected Kaldur, tugging at his shirt sleeves. It took a lot to convince him to wear something collarless. She gave up on getting into something sleeveless.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked.

"Yes," she said as she steeped back from him. "Even the crew agrees."

"You asked the crew!"

"The ones that are loyal to you, yeah. And they agree with me. You need a break."

"I do not-"

Artemis interjected, cutting him off. "Kal, you have been down there for a long time doing what you can so that the rest of us can live in peace. But there is no point if you have forgotten how to live."

"You know that when this is over-"

She interrupted him again. "I don't care if everyone hates me. I'm making a huge sacrifice and when I get back I am going to live my life to the fullest. How about you?"

Kaldur sighed as he looked away.

Artemis put on her helmet. She passed one to Kaldur before donning a motorcycle. "I'll drive."

* * *

A line had already begun to form outside of the amusement park. They soon got their tickets and walked inside the main gate. The stores and restaurants at the entrance were designed to mock a picturesque little town. Kaldur made a face at the happy music that played over hidden speakers. A corner of his mouth twitched as a mascot skipped past, handing out balloons. He politely declined the giant Robin's offer. Artemis rolled her eyes in Kaldur's general direction. She snatched the balloon from the mascot and forced it into Kaldur's hands.

"Come on. Roller coaster time." She pointed to one in the distance.

"It is wooden."

"So?"

He turned to glare at her. "Can we at least ride a metal one?"

She retuned his look with a smirk. "Your ass should be hard enough from wearing that armor all the time. You can handle a few bumps." She strode down the brick lined street.

Kaldur's shoulders slumped as he followed after her. At least, he thought. The bricks were not yellow. He pawned off his balloon off to a young couple. They accepted it as they stared at him curiously. He ignored their stares, used to them, even without his bright eyes and hair the sharp angles of his face made him stand out.

"You are going to have fun Kal!" Artemis yelled back to him. "Even if I have to make you."

* * *

He did have fun, not that he would admit it. She had bruises from the ride and had no problem complaining about it. Until Kaldur reminded her that the wooden coaster was her idea. She huffed at him and challenged him to pick something better.

The Sidewinder made them both grateful that they hadn't eaten much for breakfast, but at least there were no saddle sores. Artemis grudgingly admitted to his superior ride picking skills and left him in charge of the itinerary. By the time they boarded the bumper cars he was both smiling and laughing freely.

The restaurant was decorated like the interior of a toy space ship, all blinking lights and chrome. It was supposed to have good pizza so that is why they came. Artemis had her nose buried into the menu. Kaldur would let her choose the toppings. He was not terribly picky with the exception of anchovies. The way that surface dwellers prepared them left much to be desired in his opinion.

Kaldur heard a familiar voice behind him. Glancing backwards to check, he saw Raquel and Zatanna walking towards them. Kaldur turned around quickly, his body stiffening as he brought up his menu to cover his face. The young women walked past them, chatting away. Amistad, much bigger than the last time he had seen him, was being carried on Raquel's back. The boy looked down, and then smiled. His eyes lit up with recognition as he waved to Kaldur. Kaldur's eyes grew wide as his heart stopped. Completely oblivious Artemis continued to look at her menu.

"I have no Idea what I want."

"We need to leave."

"We just-"

"Now," he said through clenched teeth. He inclined his head toward Raquel and Zatanna's direction.

Artemis' eyebrows furrowed before turning to look. She turned around quickly, mouthing the word "Shit!" She waved her hands at Kaldur and they both speed out of the restaurant.

Zatanna's head turned in their general direction. She was certain that she sensed a magical presence. She brushed it off. It was her day off anyway. But it took Raquel an hour to convince her son that there were no sharks in the spaceship.

Several buildings away they leaned against the side of a store, breathing heavily, tired from fear rather than exertion.

"What if…What if Zee sensed the magic?" Artemis asked.

"That is exactly what I fear." Kaldur straightened, he peeked around the corner. "But she has not pursued us thus far."

Artemis took a deep breath and closed her eyes she leaned her head back against the building.

"Perhaps we should leave-"

"No!" Her eyes snapped open. "We know they are here now. We can just avoid them." She grabbed his arm and dragged him off the building. "Let's find some food."

* * *

"It would have been awkward wouldn't it?" Conner asked as he entered the line for the sausage dog stand. "I mean she's just a friend but to show up with…."

"She is a friend man. A good one, " Mal noted, his arm slung around Karen's shoulders.

"Now's not the time to start worrying about what others think." Karen gave Conner a light shove. "Just invite her over next time. It's Wendy. She won't get the wrong idea."

Kaldur and Artemis sat on a nearby bench. They both turned towards at the familiar voices. Kaldur was in the middle of taking a bite. The dog hung from his mouth. Artemis just put hers down in defeat. The two fled, leaving their food behind.

The next stand was no better. Two customers away from nachos when Artemis heard a high pitched squeal. She tapped Kaldur's shoulder until he glanced behind him. They both groaned.

"Are you sure that you've been to an amusement park before?" Barbra asked as she shook her head at Megan's excitement.

"But I haven't been to this one. Oh! Look he's so cute!" She said as she pointed to a mascot. "Can we take a picture with that one too?"

A green butterfly balanced its self on Megan's shoulder. It flew over to land on Barbra's shoulder and twitched its antennae.

Barbra looked to the butterfly before turning her gaze to the giant bat, her eyebrow raised. "Sure…but only one this time."

Without a word to the other Kaldur and Artemis left the line.

* * *

Kaldur's stomach rumbled. He looked down at it disapprovingly. The gardens were nice but there were no food stands or restaurants nearby. He and Artemis had marked three out of six areas of the park as unsafe. They sat on a bench as they planned their next move.

"Hi!" A child's voice called out to them. They looked across the way to the opposite bench and saw Roy, Jade, and Lian. Jade looked horribly uncomfortable among the common folks, a baseball cap pulled down snuggly on her hair. Roy had tired of trying to convince his wife that a family outing was a good thing. He gave the roses disinterested stares. Kaldur had been updated about Roy's reappearance from Artemis, but any relief form seeing him in person was washed away by more apprehension. Lian waved at them from her stroller. Kaldur and Artemis got up slowly, trying not to alert the assassin or the archer of their haste to get away, and left the park.

* * *

They settled on the arcades. Artemis wanted to visit them anyway. She growled as she took a hefty bite from her turkey leg.

"I don't care who we see. We aren't moving until I'm done."

Kaldur did not have the presence of mind to argue. He had downed two turkey legs of his own and was working on a piece of corn.

"And we are getting funnel cakes after this." Artemis said as he wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Kaldur passed her a napkin for the juice dripping down her chin with a small smile. Artemis took it without a word.

"I'm telling you it was rigged." Jaime said as he walked along. He popped another piece of cotton candy into his mouth. "Pink is better than blue. End of discussion," he muttered to himself.

"That's just a rumor. No one really does that." Tim said as he adjusted his glasses.

Jaime just gave him a look.

"Well, the equipment may have been miscalibrated. But that does not mean that they did it on purpose."

"It's okay. I'll just get BB some thing else Jaime." Cassie said a bit sadly.

"Why didn't use your …you know." Bart suggested as he reached over to steal a huge portion of Jaime's cotton candy.

Jaime snatched his treat back, too late to stop half of it from being taken.

"That's cheating," Tim warned.

"No offence Chica… but with those arms? That bell should have flew off on principal." Jaime stubbornly stuffed the last of his candy into his mouth.

Bart looked on in disappointment.

" Really. It's okay," Cassie assured them. "It's just sad that Gar can't play because-"

"Of the greenness?" Bart interrupted. "Told you we should had dyed him brown. " Bart's eyes darted over to Kaldur and Artemis' direction. He grinned. "Well what do you know…" He grabbed Cassie's arm and dragged her over to the ex senior member's direction. "Looks like I've found the solution."

"Hey! Bart! What are you?" Cassie protested in vain as she was pulled along.

The rest shrugged and then followed.

"You seem like a strapping young man." Bart presented Cassie to Kaldur and Artemis. "How would you like to help a damsel in distress." He said with a grin.

Cassie was more than strong enough to break from his grip. At the moment she was completely mortified. She yanked her arm from his grasp as she tried to control her blush.

The two just stared at the group of kids. Artemis's eyebrow twitched. Kaldur leaned forward, balancing his arms on his knees. He spoke before Artemis could explode.

"What can I help you with?"

They all blinked. Bart was the first to recover. He pointed to the ring the bell stand in the distance. "My lovely friend here desperately wants the green monkey but the lot of us are too stringy to win it for her." Bart grabbed hold of Tim's arm and shook it. Tim slapped his hand away.

Kaldur stood. "I can do that." He made his way to the game leaving the group speechless. Artemis hurried to walk next to him.

"You know that they are…"

"I know."

"Okay," she shrugged.

Cassie jogged to catch up to them. "You really don't have to do this Mr…uh."

"It is fine. I was going to try my hand at the game anyway. It is the green monkey that you want. Right?"

Cassie nodded in agreement.

A man much larger than Kaldur stepped down from the platform. He stared at his hands shook his head. The crowd mumbled condolences.

"Better luck next time!" The person in charge of the game bellowed. "Anyone else want to prove their strength?"

Kaldur steeped up to the platform and handed the man his fare for the game. He held the hammer loose in his hands adjusting his level of strength. He swung the mallet down, making certain to make his movements large for show. The ringer only went three fourths of the way up.

"Sorry about that sir!" the game manager said as he reached for the mallet. The crowd groaned as yet another person failed.

"Another." Kaldur pulled the money from his pocket and handed it over to the man. He knew the trick to it now, and you couldn't call it cheating if the scale was off. He swung again, using a touch of his super strength. A small dent was left into the bell from the force of the ringer. After a pause the crowd clapped and whistled. The manager was left speechless. Kaldur cleared his throat to get the man's attention.

The manager stammered a bit before speaking. " Which prize would you like?"

"The green monkey."

The manager got the prize down and handed it to Kaldur. Who in turn handed it to Cassie as he walked off the stage.

"Ugh..Wait!" She jogged after him. "At least let me pay the fare for the games."

Artemis placed her hand on Cassie's shoulder. "Just consider it a gift." She then moved to catch up with Kaldur.

The rest of the younger members crowded around Cassie.

"That was uhh. Not what I was expecting," said Bart.

"Why were you expecting anything at all?" Jaime asked.

Bart just shrugged.

Cassie scowled at Bart for even daring to disturb such a nice man. He flinched under her gaze.

Tim stared after Kaldur and Artemis, rubbing his chin. The pair felt familiar to him, especially their voices.

Jamie nudged him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just seeing things. Hearing things?" Tim shook his head. "Doesn't matter let's find Meg and Babs so we can deliver our package."

Artemis looked Kaldur up and down once she caught up with him. "Soooo."

"Yes?"

"Nothing," She looked away with a small smile.

"Did you still want those funnel cakes?"

"I think we've both had enough sweetness." She punched him in the shoulder with a grin.

He chuckled softly as he rolled his eyes.

"Wanna see how the lines are for the roller coasters?"

Kaldur tucked his hands into his pant's pockets. "Sure."

* * *

They did not hesitate when they saw old teammates this time. Artemis roughly slung her arm around Wally's neck, pulling him down to her level. Kaldur crossed his arms over his chest as he glared.

"Whose bright idea was it to bring the entire team to the park?" Artemis ground out between clenched teeth.

Wally struggled a bit before realizing who it was. He looked to Kaldur in shock, not instantly recognizing him. "Kaldur?"

"Go ahead, announce it to the world," Kaldur said coldly.

"Sorry guys." Dick steeped up rubbing the back of his neck. "It was my idea. Everyone was so wound up and-"

Kaldur's and Artemis's glares transferred to Dick. Dick only laughed nervously.

"I chose this place because it wasn't in any of our major cites," Artemis said, irritation still evident in her voice.

Wally disentangled himself from Artemis. "And we chose this place because they were opening a new ride." He jerked his thumb at the roller coaster's sign.

"That's interesting." Dick inspected Kaldur's appearance.

"Klarion." Kaldur tapped his watch.

Wally took a step back. "Whoa. Really? You trust that guy?"

"I do not. But the watch has been checked for spells tailored for surveillance."

"If you say so…"

Dick placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "Hey why don't you join us?"

* * *

The four of the sat in the front row. Dick turned to look at Kaldur as the bar was lowered over their shoulders. "When is the last time we did this?"

Kaldur thought for a moment. Answering once the coaster began to move. "Two and a half…maybe three years."

Artemis hooped and hollered from her seat, causing Wally to laugh. The couples' hands were intertwined as they rested on the seat.

"Really?" Dick shook his head. "What happened? I know that this past year you were umm… occupied but still."

"We just got busy."

Dick nodded. "Yeah..busy." The roller coaster reached its peak, halting before the big drop. "We should do this more often…I mean. We will do this more often, when every thing is done."

Kaldur gave Dick a small smile. "Yes…Yes we will." He raised his arms into the air as the coaster speed down its track.


End file.
